Poll

Today's Opinions

It’s May already...and summer’s just around the corner. When I realized that, it got me to thinking about all the things I grew up doing during those blissful months without the burden of homework or school.

When I was a kid, the thing to do in the summertime was to go to the pool at the American Legion. It cost a dollar to get in, and there was a snack bar where you could purchase a small cup of soda and choose from a number of snack foods.

This weekend we welcome visitors to our city for the annual QuincyFest. People come from throughput Georgia and Florida to hear good blues and eat fantastic barbecue. A lot of local people put in many volunteer hours throughout the year to make the event a success. It has been a success. And the event is getting even better.

Last Thursday afternoon my community was shaken by a tornado. In the middle of the afternoon we were visited by an unwelcome stranger. It marched through our close knit serene neighborhoods leaving downed trees and power lines in its wake. Fortunately, there was only damage to property. No lives were lost; no one so much as got a splinter in his or her hand.

Sam Hawkins has to go to trial for a horse that Gadsden County killed and did not belong to him? Well, I am ashamed to tell anyone that I live in Gadsden County. Next time, county manager, don't overfeed the animal.

Mr. Mathis admitted in an oral statement to the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office that the horse belonged to him and not Mr. Hawkins, so why did the State Attorney's Office arrest the wrong man? When Mr. Hawkins was over the Gadsden County NAACP, he helped a lot of people in the county, but he also told the county commissioners and others when they were wrong.

Just 3 weeks shy of the National Day of Prayer, set for the first Thursday in May each year, rumors circulated that Obama had decided he didn’t want to “offend anyone,” so he canceled it. He didn’t cancel the National Day of Prayer, and was expected to sign a proclamation to uphold the tradition. He did, however, cancel the White House service in observance of the day.

When I found out last Wednesday that Corrections Corporation of America no longer had the contract to operate Gadsden Correctional facility at Gretna, I felt as if an old friend told me he was moving to another city. I had become so accustomed to the people being there and calling on them to support the community and attending the quarterly Community Relations Committee meetings.

After working with and covering the Havana Relay for Life, I found myself wondering about the people who commit to working so hard on similar events. Beyond the obvious reasons, I wondered what makes people commit to such involvement.

Then I began to think about how we can be involved in making the world a better place on a daily basis. And that started me to thinking about random acts of kindness.

I have to admit, I got a little homesick last week. It was Masters week in Augusta, after all, and I was missing all that goes with it. I even missed the joy of yelling at out-of-towners who don’t know where to go and then turn around in all the wrong places.

I miss seeing the grounds, with all the azaleas and dogwoods, and the green, green, very green grass. Oh, you can see azaleas and dogwoods other places, but they’re just not the same as those at the Masters.